Korra's First Loss
by avatarfan82
Summary: Korra and Mako are starting their day as they normally would, enjoying an early morning sparring match. Korra prides herself in always winning these matches, but this morning things would go much differently then either of them expected... Note: this is a one-shot.


Korra had performed these moves hundreds of times. She could probably even do them in her sleep. She slowly shifted her weight from her left leg to her right leg and placed her hands in the ready position. She already had a layer of moisture on her forehead that she quickly swiped away with her arm. She didn't remember her sparring matches with Mako being so taxing before, but today she felt like she had just played in three back to back pro-bending matches. Her chest rose up and down more rapidly than she cared to admit as she took in each breath.

She felt so out of shape at that moment. She had taken some time off right before and after the wedding, allowing herself to enjoy a quaint honeymoon with Mako. He, being gung-ho about his new position in her life as her husband, relished the fact that he could nudge her toward doing things she didn't want to by throwing out the phrase, "You know, as your husband, I have to insist that you take better care of yourself." She rolled her eyes at the thought of how he had morphed those words into a type of threat. Still, the wedding and honeymoon, as beautiful as they both were, had happened over 4 months ago. Now it was time for her to get back to top form. Plus, if Mako ever got a sense that she was losing her edge, she would never hear the end of it.

She re-focused her attention on the fire bender glaring at her from across the clearing. There was a playful glint in his eye, as if he had some secret technique he planned to use against her this time. No matter how hard he tried, he could never manage to incapacitate her. Things would play out no differently today, if she had anything to say about it.

"You ready?" he called, standing up straight with both of his arms in front of him as if he were ready to throw punches at an opponent. "You're looking a little winded over there."

She narrowed her eyes at him in irritation. He always knew exactly what words to say to push her buttons. Even now, she felt heat starting to generate from her stomach; a tell-tale sign that anger was on its way.

"Just shut up and fight." She said, as menacingly as she could. Instead of striking fear into her opponent, like she imagined it would when she pictured it in her head, Mako just chuckled.

"Someone's a little sensitive this morning." He said, pleased that he had gotten under her skin so quickly. Korra scowled as she bent the water out of the pouch that always rested at her hip. She liked to refer to this water as her 'bending water' because it had the perfect concentration of salt and left a nice sting when used against her opponents.

"If you're just planning to stand here talking all morning, then I'll go first." She said hotly. Before he could respond, she shot a quick water whip at him that jabbed him in the arm. This was the first technique she had learned when she began training with Katara as a child and had perfected it so well that most people couldn't see it coming until it had already hit them.

Mako slightly grimaced and shook his arm at the sting. He hadn't had time to react before the whip did its damage. His playful expression was still there, but there were no more snide comments coming from his general direction. A smirk now played on her lips as well, feeling good that she had gotten him to shut his mouth.

The sparring match began, as Mako went from an upright stance to a slightly crouched stance. He gave two left jabs and a right hook to the air that produced hot blazes of fire directly at Korra. She ran to her left and jumped into the air, performing a spinning kick in midair that sent water from the nearby fountain toward him in a tight spiral. He ducked, barely avoiding the attack and did a low spin kick, shooting a large blast of flames on the ground toward her. Korra reacted as quickly as she could and doused the flames, but not before one licked at her boot and singed it. As the thin trail of smoke curled up from her foot, she cursed to herself, angry that she had let an attack get through.

Mako relaxed for a moment, as he watched her bend water onto her foot to put out the smoke. He smiled and started to make a comment about her moving too slowly, but stopped himself. Something was definitely off about her this morning, but he couldn't put his finger on it. She looked too tired for the short 30 minutes they had been practicing. And her breath…she couldn't seem to be able to catch it. Not to mention that he had never managed to get any fire close enough to her for her to feel heat, much less actually burn her clothes.

"Hey, you sure you're okay?" he asked, this time the playfulness gone from his voice and replaced with a hint of concern.

"I'm fine. Just go!" she said, allowing her anger to completely come out now. As she attempted to get back into her fighting stance, she suddenly started to feel dizzy, as if her surroundings were tilting around her. She fought off the sensation by slightly shaking her head. When she looked around again, she saw that everything was now in the right place, but she was starting to get a little worried herself. She could feel something was not quite right inside of her, but didn't really know what it was.

Before she had a chance to worry more about what was happening, she bent water from the nearby fountain again and formed it into a ball. From that ball she began to shoot tiny slivers of ice at Mako. Each one had the potential to slice through skin. He frantically punched the air sending a series of fire blasts that made quick work of the sharpened ice. Unfazed, she made series of water whips that she shot toward him from all directions. He quickly zigzagged avoiding each whip and shot a technique at her he liked to call the 'flame thrower'. This move involved him using his breath to shoot a giant blast of fire toward her for a longer period of time. This was a modified version of the technique that the former General Iroh had used, which led to him earning his nickname "Dragon of the West."

Korra reacted quickly, bending as much water as she could from the fountain and creating a circle around her body to fend off the flames. After a few moments, she realized that she wasn't going to be able to hold her stance for much longer and the flames were showing no signs of letting up. Mako lowered the level of his flames slightly because he was running out of breath, when he noticed the ball of the water surrounding Korra suddenly break form and drop to the ground around her. He immediately cut off his blast.

"Korra? Korra!" he called running toward her. She had fallen to her knees, panting and sweating, drenched from head to toe in the water she had attempted to bend.

He knelt down beside her, placing his hand on her back.

"I-I don't know what's wrong." She began, barely getting the words out between breaths.

"I knew something wasn't right. You should have just told me you weren't feeling well." Mako chided as he lifted her to standing position. He placed his arm around her waist and acted as a support for her while she feebly walked next to him. Her entire body was shaking, and Mako was tempted to hoist her into his arms to carry her, but knew she would literally kill him if he did that right now.

"Maybe you caught a bug." he said as he walked with her inside of their home and helped her into the bedroom. She immediately started throwing off her wet clothes and said, "I think I'm going to get cleaned up."

"Be careful in there. If you start feeling bad again, just call me." Mako cautioned with a tone that reminded Korra of her dad. "I'll be out here making breakfast." He concluded, kissing her lightly on the forehead and then heading into the kitchen. He had gotten a recipe from Senna for one of Korra's favorite breakfast dishes, and he planned to make it for her this morning. He hoped it would help her feel better.

After 10 minutes of cooking, smells of the food began to drift throughout the house. Korra had finished showering and was just walking back into the living room to see if she could help out with the meal. The moment her nose detected the smell, she felt a wave of nausea hit her with such intensity that she doubled over.

"Mako, are you making sea prunes?" she asked, willing her body to get back under control, but realizing that she was losing this battle.

"Yeah! It's a recipe I got from your mom and I know it's your favorite." He said proudly as he glanced at her from the kitchen. Before he could finish his statement, he saw her cover her mouth and then flee from the room in a panic. The next thing he heard was the sound of her throwing up in the bathroom, and he furrowed his eyebrows in concern.

"I could have sworn she liked this food." He said to himself, but shrugged and turned off the stove. After a few moments, she returned to the living room, plopping down on the couch, looking exhausted.

"You're having a hard time this morning, huh?" he asked as he grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water.

Korra nodded her head slowly as she leaned back on the couch, still clutching her stomach. That smell…if it didn't go away, she would be back in the bathroom.

"Seems that way. Hey, could you open a window or something? That smell is killing me." she said, weakly, trying not to think about how nauseous she was feeling.

"Okay, but I thought sea prunes were your favorite food?" he stated in confusion, turning on a fan and opening up all of the windows.

"They normally are," she said as he made his way to the couch, holding the glass of water, and sat down next to her. "But for some reason I can't tolerate them right now."

Mako frowned and placed his hand on her forehead. She didn't appear to have a fever, but there was obviously something wrong.

"Hmm…well, Katara is staying at Tenzin's place right now for a visit. Maybe you should have her take a look at you and see if she can figure out what's going on."

Korra nodded as she slowly lifted herself to an upright position and drank from the glass of water that Mako had brought with him from the kitchen.

"I'll head over there now. And I guess I'll eat some bread for breakfast, since nothing else sounds edible to me." She said, drifting into the kitchen and grabbing a roll.

"Yeah, we gotta get you all fixed up and quickly." Mako commented, as he watched her barely finish the roll. She was known for her ferocious appetite and her not wanting any food was a big indication that something was really bothering her.

"Why don't you come with me? I know it's your day off and you wanted to rest, but maybe we can head into the city after I meet with Katara." Korra offered.

Mako smiled as he got to his feet. "Sure, that sounds fine. Let me get out of these sweaty workout clothes and then we'll head over there."

* * *

"Oh, it's so good to see you both!" Katara said, answering the front door when Korra knocked. She gave both Korra and Mako kisses on their cheeks and then ushered them into the front room.

"Mako, I think your brother is here playing with Meelo." Katara stated. As if on cue, the three of them heard a loud crash out back and then insane laughter from Bolin and Meelo.

"Yep, that sounds like him. Let me go make sure Tenzin doesn't kill him for whatever it is that he just broke." Mako said. He quickly kissed Korra on the cheek and then excused himself.

"He's such a nice boy. And, I can tell he takes good care of you. You both have that look on your faces that Aang and I had when we were first married." Katara said, smiling fondly as she led Korra to a back room. It was dimly lit and had various colors and sizes of glasses filled with different types of water that had been collected over many years.

"Go ahead and lie down on the bed and we'll get started." She instructed. Korra lowered herself down on her back and placed her hands at her sides. She stared up at the ceiling as she heard Katara gathering bottles and shuffling around getting towels and other supplies.

"So, tell me what you've been feeling." She asked as she began to arrange her water in order of how it would be used.

"I just started feeling bad today. I woke up and I was really tired, like I had no energy. Then, when Mako and I did our morning sparring match, I couldn't go for longer than 30 minutes before I was out of breath. I even felt dizzy at one point." Korra explained.

"Go on." Katara said as she set one bottle closest to her and looked intently into Korra's eyes while she finished her story.

"The biggest problem happened after we finished practicing and came in the house. Mako decided to make me a dish with sea prunes in it for breakfast."

"Oh, how sweet of him! Those are your favorite food." Katara commented, smiling delightedly.

"Yes, but for some reason I couldn't handle them today. As soon as I smelled them, I got sick." Korra recalled, feeling that dull nausea returning even at the mention of the food.

Katara nodded with a knowing look on her face.

"I see. Well, let's take a look at you." She said.

Korra stared at the ceiling in silence and lay still as Katara moved the water over her torso. Korra closed her eyes and tried to relax, as the water slowly permeated her skin. It had a cooling effect that was also calming and she immediately felt her muscles soften.

"Very good. Just stay relaxed." Katara said as she brought the water lower. When she reached the area just below Korra's belly button, she hovered for a moment with a thoughtful look on her face. Korra noticed the change in movement and opened her eyes. To her surprise, Katara had a small smile on her face and her eyes looked moist.

"What's going on, Katara? Is everything alright?" Korra asked in alarm, as she observed her body language.

"Yes, dear. And, I think I've figured out why you're not feeling well." She said slowly putting the water back in its container.

"Really? What is it?" Korra asked, sitting upright on the bed, eager to know what the problem was and how to fix it.

Katara smiled gently as she took Korra's hand in hers and said, "It looks like you're pregnant."

Korra's mouth fell open in shock and she stared wide-eyed back at Katara.

"What?!" she exclaimed. Katara nodded as Korra got up out of the bed and to her feet.

"Yes! Congratulations, Korra!" Katara said, her excitement taking over as she embraced her.

"Wow. I mean, this is really…wow." was all Korra could manage to get out as Katara eventually let her go and placed both of her hands on the sides of her face.

"I'm so happy for you both. You'll have a beautiful child." She said, her eyes shining. Then she began to gather her things to pack into her bag.

"But, wait. Katara, how could you tell? Could you see it?" Korra wondered as she placed a hand on her belly and looked down at herself.

Katara chuckled good-naturedly as she shook her head.

"No, no. I can't see anything, but I can sense. Just like we can sense what's happening in someone's body and use our chi to help the healing process, I sensed the presence of a set of chi pathways that was different from yours. It got stronger when I moved the water down below your belly button. In my experience, when I've detected that, it always meant one thing."

Korra was in awe that it was even possible to do that.

"You've got to make sure you take very good care of yourself now. So, no more sparring matches with Mako and make sure you are getting plenty of rest. It would also be helpful to get more in tune with your body so you don't overdo it. I bet you didn't even notice you missed your cycle this month." Katara said, shooting Korra a look as she placed her last bottle in her bag and moved toward the door.

Korra nodded in embarassment, still feeling a little dazed. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't had a period earlier in the month like she normally did. Being so caught up with work involving the city council must have distracted her.

"That's okay. Now we know and we can make sure everything's taken care of. Now, go on and tell your husband." Katara said, leading Korra out of the room. She gave her one last hug in the entrance to the living room before parting ways and heading to the back of the house.

Korra could hear the boys playing outside and made her way to the backyard. What she saw made her giggle to herself. Bolin had Meelo hanging from his arm and was spinning around in circles while Meelo held on for dear life and cackled as loudly as he could. Mako was playing with Rohan, lifting him high in the air and then lowering him quickly. Rohan was about two and half years old now and was having a ball, laughing non-stop every time he was lowered by Mako. Korra smiled as she imagined him with their child playing the same game. This was something they both wanted and her excitement to share her knews with him was hard to contain.

Eventually, Meelo looked over at her and called, "Hey, Korra! Come play with us!"

Bolin and Mako also looked up and Bolin called, "Yeah, come play!" Korra laughed as Mako brought Rohan down into his arms and walked toward Korra.

"Sorry guys. Korra's not feeling too well right now, but I'm sure she'll come play next time."  
"Aww man." Meelo and Bolin said simultaneously, and then both broke out into hysterical laughter. When Mako made is way over to her, he searched her eyes in concern and asked, "Well?"

"Let's take a walk." Korra responded. She tickled Rohan who giggled and then took him from Mako.  
"We'll drop this little guy off to his mom first, though."

The two found Pema in the kitchen and gave the young boy to her. Then Korra took Mako's hand and walked around to the side of the temple, where they had a clear view of the city and, more importantly, some privacy.

"So, how much longer are you going to keep me in suspense?" Mako asked, trying to keep his voice light, but still unable to mask the strain that managed to seep through.

"Not much longer." She said gazing into his eyes. The love she felt for him was so strong at that moment, she could barely contain herself.

There must have been something different in her gaze because Mako raised an eyebrow and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? You're acting weird." He placed his hands on the sides of her waist and continued, "Come on. Spit it out, weirdo."

Korra grinned at him as she quietly said, "Mako, I'm pregnant."

Mako's eyes widened as he said, "Are you being serious right now?"

"Yes!" she said, her excitement finally bursting out. "We're having a child!"

Without hesitation, he lifted her into his arms and hugged her tightly, smiling just as brightly as he had the moment he saw her walking down the aisle toward him on their wedding day.

"Unbelievable!" he murmured into her hair. Then he gently set her down and kissed her tenderly.

"How did she know?" he asked, staring down at her belly in amazement. He was finding it hard to believe that their child was already growing inside of her because there was nothing physically different about her shape at all.

"She sensed it while she was doing the healing session. It was like she picked up on another life force inside of me." Korra explained.

After a moment, a thoughtful look crossed Mako's face, as he said, "Well, now we know why you lost your first bending match to me this morning."

"No! That shouldn't count because I have a condition!" Korra complained, but Mako only shook his head.

"Hey, a loss is a loss." he said shrugging. Korra pretended to pout, but couldn't keep it up and they both ended up laughing instead.

After their laughter subsided, Korra said, "I don't mind. It's a great reason to lose." Mako nodded and then kissed her once more before they turned and headed back into the temple.

* * *

**This is my first attempt at writing a one shot. It still ended up being considerably longer than I intended, but I still had fun with it. Feedback is appreciated and there will be more to come!**


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